Little Tigers give unbeaten a test in NJSIAA Group III semifinals
By: Bob Nuse
TOMS RIVER If Shawnee High is the No. 5 boys’ soccer team in the nation, as the Renegades are ranked in one national poll, then Princeton High can’t be that far behind.
The Little Tigers battled Shawnee, ranked No. 1 in New Jersey by the state’s largest newspaper, for a full 80 minutes before falling, 1-0, in the Group III state semifinal game Tuesday night at Toms River North.
Shawnee, which improved to 26-0 with the win, scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick with just over 19 minutes to play in the first half. That goal would stand up over the next 61 minutes, despite Princeton playing evenly with the Renegades for most of the match.
"It’s a soccer game and we play in the CVC, so at this point in the season we’re battle tested," said Princeton coach Wayne Sutcliffe, whose team finished the season with a 16-4 record. "We’re respectful of Shawnee’s reputation and record, but we felt like we could have taken them. And I think, on the field, we played effectively enough to win the game and should have been able to walk away with at least a draw after 80 (minutes). I felt like we could have walked away with a draw and gone to OT."
The Little Tigers held the vaunted Shawnee offense in check most of the night, and also made some spectacular defensive plays. In the end, it was a penalty kick, which came on a call that apparently was just inside the box, that decided the game. Princeton looked to possibly be in position to score on a PK of its own later in the half, but on that play junior Javier Ramirez was ruled to have been fouled just outside the box.
"It was very debatable," Sutcliffe said of the foul that led to the Shawnee penalty kick. "In a state semifinal, you have to be 100 percent sure. Obviously, the referee made his decision. But none of us agreed with it. Not one coach. Not one fan. Not one player. And then at the other end, if you’re going to make the call at this end, you’ve got to make it at the other end. You can’t call it inches away from the 18-line box and just say it’s outside of the 18. Javier was clearly inside the box. Inconsistent refereeing was a factor in the game tonight.
"I’m not going to deny Shawnee the right to have won the game and advance to the final, they’re a great team. And I’m not going to blame the ref, either. I’m just saying it was a factor."
The loss brings to an end a spectacular season for the Little Tigers, who won four straight games to capture the Central Jersey Group III title. After two straight .500 seasons, Princeton put together a much better campaign this year.
"We had a great season," Sutcliffe said. "We worked so hard and accomplished so much. All through the season, we had some ups and downs, but into the tournament we just gained so much confidence. One of the great things about coaching a soccer team is seeing guys gain confidence individually and collectively to the point where you get them to the tournament and they’re kind of like leading.
"The coaches are just coaching from the perimeter. And that’s what happened with this team. We met our goal to get the team to be competitive and to lead itself into the tournament."
Sutcliffe could not have been happier with his team in any aspect of play. It was a team that bonded as well as any he has ever coached, while also gaining confidence with each win.
"Soccer is a players’ game," Sutcliffe said. "It’s not a coach’s game. And our guys demonstrated that. The coaches worked hard in the off-season and throughout the first half of the season and set the bar high to fine-tune technical things and fitness. But the beauty of soccer is that the players control the game. We want them to be able to make decisions for themselves and we were able to do that.
"That’s what I’m most proud of, the fact that we were a great, competitive team. Our record speaks for that. We knocked off some very good teams in the tournament, especially Long Branch and Monroe."
Princeton lost four games this season, all by one goal. And in each of those losses, the result could have been different.
"We knew we were good," Sutcliffe said. "Even in the games we lost, to West Windsor (South), Steinert and Hun, I felt like we could have been the winner in every one of those games. They were all one-goal games. Our strength of schedule helps us a lot. We were in a lot of battles this year and that prepared us so well."
The Little Tigers were a prepared team that was well coached and had the right kind of leadership. With each of those factors in place, the Little Tigers could not help but be successful.
"The seniors are the absolute greatest group," Sutcliffe said. "We had great leaders. Michael Lynch and Pete Miller, our captains, they’re just the best. We had seven seniors on this team. They put four years in each. They were all freshmen when we won (Central Jersey Group III) in 2003 and their goal was to get back to this game. They achieved that goal. Their efforts renewed our program as far as being an elite program statewide."
This year, Princeton’s program was one that gave an elite program nationally all it could handle.

